Welcome To The P-FMSIG's Website!

Dedicated to the joys of proto-freelance model railroading.

Founded in 1999, the
Proto-Freelance Modelers Special Interest Group (P-FMSIG) is an independent,
internet-based, group of model railroaders who share a common interest in
modeling fictional railroads that are in some ways based on prototype railroads,
their operating practices, or the good ol' "what if" scenario. We are not your
normal SIG -- in fact, few people have ever accused a P-F'er of being normal!
Membership in the P-FMSIG is free, and it is open to anyone with access
to the internet. All you need to do to join is subscribe to our mailing list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pfmsig

That's a very common question; unfortunately, there as many answers to it as there
are model railroaders! To a degree, all of us are proto-freelancers as it's next to
impossible to model all but the shortest of railroads in perfect, unedited detail.
But, in a more narrow sense, proto-freelance model railroads usually fall into one
of three groups:

A layout that draws heavily from one or more prototype railroads,
in an effort to convey the impression of a real railroad, without
copying all the details of any specific one. Some examples would
include: The Allegheny Midland (RIP), and The Virginian & Ohio

A layout that models one or more specific railroads, real or fictional,
using a "what if" scenario to portray what the railroad(s) might
have looked like if the "Powers That Were" had done things differently
than they had. Some examples include: The Cat Mountain & Santa Fe,
and Dave Messer's PRR, Northeast Division (Pennsy buys LHR)

Any fictional railroad that follows, in form and function, accepted
design and operating practices for that type of railway in the
era, and region, in which the layout is set. Some examples of these
include: The Franklin & South Manchester, The Canandaigua Southern,
The Gorre & Daphetid (RIP), and The Delta Lines (RIP)

If your model railroad empire doesn't exactly fit into any of those above,
don't worry. This is a hobby, not a nitpicking society, so any and all model railroaders
are welcome here. So, c'mon aboard!